Joe bounced out of his seat and hurried after Leigh. He grabbed her arm before she could clamber up onto the stage. "Leigh, don't." He waved with his free hand at Simon who was already on the stage. "The speakers!"

Simon nodded and grabbed the tower before it could actually topple. He gave Joe a salute and motioned to someone off stage. Joe tugged gently on Leigh's arm and she stopped trying to get free. "You okay?"

She blinked and turned to look at him. "Uh, yeah." She took a deep breath and pulled her arm free. "I'm going back to the hotel."

Joe nodded and watched her leave, not appearing as happy as when she'd come in. He turned to Frank. "Wonder what that was all about?"

Frank shook his head. "I don't know."

                                                ***

A steady noise burrowed into his brain, finally forcing him to open his eyes. Joe squinted against the bright sunshine and groaned. It was too early to be up, he thought, pulling the covers over his head.

A second later, the covers were yanked away. "Time to get up."

"Go away. Give me my covers." Joe muttered, not even opening his eyes. "Too early."

Frank chuckled. "You're such a chatterbox when you first wake up. And it's hardly early. It's ten-thirty."

Joe finally opened his eyes. "Why are you so cheerful?"

"I went to bed before you did. What time did you go to bed?"

"Don't know." Joe rolled onto his back and sat up. He blinked and shrugged. "Around three?"

"Well, I guess you could always join a band. You got the up-all-night and sleep-all-day syndrome."

"Ha, ha. Did you bring breakfast? If you didn't, I'm going back to sleep."

Frank rolled his eyes. "Leigh called earlier, wanted to know if we'd be with her at the promo thing."

Joe sighed. "As long as there's food there."

"Why am I not surprised?" Frank said to the air and shook his head. "Come on then."

Joe grunted but got out of bed. He took a quick shower and got dressed, and then he and Frank headed out of their hotel room. He was quiet as Frank led the way to the nearest elevator. Joe waited until they were in the elevator, heading down to the lobby. "Was that the noise? The phone?"

"What did you think it was?"

"You don't want to go there."

The elevator stopped at the lobby and the brothers left the elevator. Frank led the way to a conference room and opened the door.

A tall broad-shouldered man filled the doorway. "No admittance."

Joe pointed at the band. "We're with them."

The man scowled. After a long moment, he moved to let them pass. "Whew, wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley," muttered Joe.

"Shh," said Frank as they joined Leigh and the band.

Leigh gave Joe a relieved smile. "Thanks."

Joe smiled his most charming smile at her. "You're very welcome."

Frank just rolled his eyes. But an hour later, Joe wasn't feeling so charming. He was bored; between the chatter and the camera flashes, he was even starting to get a headache. The food wasn't much of an incentive – hard bagels, stale donuts and lukewarm coffee.

A nudge on his shoulder startled him and he glanced to his right. "Huh?"

"You were starting to drool," whispered Frank.

Joe shot him a glare. But the minute he saw the photographer packing up his camera and equipment, his mood improved. "We done?"

Leigh walked over to them. "Thanks for being here."

Joe bounced to his feet. "No prob. Ready to go?"

Leigh nodded as Marc walked over to them. "Hey, guys," he said, sounding tired.

Frank grinned. "Hey, what now?"

"The band's going to the local radio station for an interview session. Probably take a couple of hours. Can you help Simon and the others in a little while? We need to be ready to go by five this afternoon."

Joe nodded. "Sure."

"Can I do a little shopping?" asked Leigh. "Can they come with me?"

Marc shrugged. "Yeah. See you guys later."

Joe turned to Leigh. "Let's go," he said, trying not to sound to seem too impatient.

"Yes," said Leigh. "I promised I'd bring everyone back a little something. You don't mind?"

Joe shook his head. "Not at all."

Frank bit back a grin and decided not to say a word.

                                                ***

By two o'clock, Joe was glad to see Leigh and her purchases back to her hotel room. At least they'd found a decent place for lunch, he thought as they walked into the auditorium. "Y'know, I'm ready to head home myself."

"You just want to get home to see how many presents you have under the tree."

"That too." Joe waved to Simon as he and Frank stepped up onto the stage.

Simon showed them what to do and between the brothers, Simon and the other four roadies, they made quick work of taking the equipment down in just under two hours.

"We'll load it, boys," said Simon. "Thanks." There was a tinny-sounding ring and he pulled a cell phone out of his jeans' pocket. "Yeah?...Got it." He punched the button to hang up. "Ry said to be ready to go as soon as possible."

Joe glanced at his watch. "It's barely four o'clock."

"Bad storm brewing to the south of us. Ry hopes to avoid the worst of it by leaving now."

Joe and Frank shared a worried look. "We'll be ready," said Frank. "Come on, Joe."

                                                            ***

Fenton Hardy walked across the lobby, relieved the meeting was finally over with. Being a consultant for a high-tech security business was often time-consuming.

He walked to the glass doors and stopped, staring. A high wind whipped at pedestrians’ coats and hats as a thick snow fell. A storm had apparently blown in and he hadn't even realized it.

Fenton glanced over his shoulder at the reception desk. The woman was busy on the phone, so he decided not to bother her. He buttoned up his coat, pulled his hat lower on his head and ventured outside.

The wind pummeled him as he made his way to an empty taxi – but he found it wasn't such good luck, because of the traffic jam. The good thing was, his hotel wasn't far. But by the time he made it to the hotel, he was freezing; his nose and ears felt numb. He hurried to an elevator and darted inside. Thank God, it was warmer in here.

Fenton made it to his room, shivering all the way. He changed into a fleece-lined sweat-suit and turned up the heat. He glanced out the window and sighed. What a time for a snowstorm, he thought.

Another thought had him reaching for the phone. He dialed a number, pacing as far as the telephone cord would allow. "Yes, I'm calling about Flight 217...I see. Can you tell me when it will take off?...I see. Thank you."

Fenton didn't quite slam the phone down. Flights were grounded until the storm blew over. "Damn." He took a deep breath. Now he had to call his wife.

                                                ***

The airplane soared into a crystal clear blue sky. Joe glanced out his small window. Once the news about the storm had spread, it had taken no time to get everyone and everything loaded up. Joe pointed out the window. "What storm?"

"It's good that we're leaving before it hits," said Frank. "Remember our promise to Mom."

"Yeah. I think I'll take a nap."

Frank nodded. But then for some odd reason, he twisted around in his seat to look at Leigh--she was as pale as a ghost. Then he remembered what she'd said yesterday morning and felt a chill race down his spine.

                                                ***

Laura Hardy was seated in the living room, humming along with the Christmas music on the radio. She smoothed the wrapping paper as she wrapped a small box. She smiled as she finished. She hoped Fenton liked it; it had taken her forever to find.

The telephone ringing startled her for a moment but when it stopped, she assumed Gertrude had answered the kitchen extension. She cut off a large square of wrapping paper and pulled a medium-sized box toward her. She'd gotten Joe a new jacket, fleece-lined, the logo of his favorite football team embroidered on the back.

"Laura."

Laura looked up to see Gertrude standing there, the cordless phone in one hand. "It's Fenton."

Laura's good mood evaporated and she shivered. She scrambled to her feet and took the cordless phone. "Fenton?...I see...Okay...No, that's okay...I love you too." She switched the phone off and handed the phone back to Gertrude. "P-planes are grounded due to a s-storm," she managed barely above a whisper.

Gertrude nodded. "He'll get here when he can."

Laura glanced out the window, noticing the afternoon sky was dark even though it wasn't that late.  "I have a very bad feeling about this," she whispered, blinking back tears.

Gertrude frowned. So did she.

                                                ***

There was a sharp bump, then a free-fall sensation. Joe's eyes snapped open. "What the hell?" he muttered as the plane started flying steady again.

"Turbulence," said Frank. "Buckle up."

Joe buckled. "I thought we were supposed to get clear of the storm by leaving early."

"The storm's moving east – fast," said Leigh in a shaky voice.

Joe glanced back at her and remembered what she'd said only this morning. "Leigh—”

The plane hit another pocket of turbulence and dropped. For a heart-stopping moment, Frank was sure they were going to crash. Then slowly, he felt the plane rise. He could almost feel the strain in his arms as the pilot pulled back on the wheel.

Frank wanted to go help Ryan but knew Marc was already in the co-pilot's seat. He glanced around and saw everyone was pale and silent as the plane struggled through the storm.

The plane hit another pocket of turbulence and Joe's stomach lurched. "I hate small planes," he muttered.

"Me too," said Adrian, looking nauseous.

Before anyone could say anything else, both engines ground to a halt – and the plane nose-dived—

The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The Hardy Boys Fan Fiction authors of the Hardy Detective Agency have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.